Traille determined to make his mark

France centre Damien Traille admits he has something to prove when he takes his place in the centre for tomorrow’s RBS 6 Nations match with Italy at the Stade de France.

Traille was a mainstay of the 2002 Grand Slam winning team and was also being tipped as a likely star of the World Cup as last year’s rugby festival in Australia approached.

But the man who plays his club rugby for Pau in the heart of the Pyrenees admits he fell from grace at the wrong moment as he lost his place to Yannick Jauzion and spent most of that tournament on the sidelines.

Ironically, he will be paired with Jauzion in the centre with his 2002 foil Tony Marsh still not fully re-established in the side following his battle with cancer.

Traille, 24, told L’Equipe: “I was picked for 24 consecutive games by the French team between 2001 and the start of 2003.

“People even said I could break the record for consecutive appearances. It all went pear-shaped at just the wrong time.“

Coach Bernard Laporte has stressed that Les Bleus will not be taking Italy lightly even if the Azzurri are perceived by some as the weakest link in the 6 Nations chain.

He pointed out that Italy’s 50-9 scoreline in their opener against England in Rome was no disgrace considering the form of the world champions.

Laporte said: “Italy didn’t play badly against England – England were good three months ago and they still are. It was the power of England that made the difference.”

Stand-off Julien Peyrelongue who replaces the injured Frederic Michalak alongside scrum-half Jean-Baptiste Elissalde.